Famous news agency exposes false Indian claim about Nur Khan base

AFP Fact Check has debunked social media claims that falsely portrayed a missile strike on Nur Khan Airbase by using a decades-old photo from the Chernobyl disaster

NEWS ANALYSIS

May 27, 2025

A RESPECTED international news agency has debunked Indian claims that missiles severely damaged Pakistan’s Nur Khan Airbase near Islamabad between 7th and 10th May. The AFP Fact Check, managed by the French news agency Agence France-Presse, supports suspicions long held by Pakistanis: Indian media frequently resorts to misinformation to glorify its military’s actions.

On Tuesday, AFP reported that a photo shared widely on Indian social media — purportedly showing a gutted control room at the Nur Khan Airbase — in fact depicts the control room of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, decades after its abandonment.

The misleading image appeared in a Hindi-language Facebook post on 18th May, captioned “Scene at Nur Khan Airbase.” This facility was allegedly among three Pakistani airbases struck by Indian missiles during a brief but intense four-day conflict earlier in the month. The hostilities, which claimed at least 70 lives across both countries, ended in a ceasefire on 10th May.

According to AFP, the fabricated claim spread rapidly among Hindi-speaking users on platforms such as Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), where it was shared hundreds of times. Several users accepted the post at face value. “Well-established airbases were destroyed, thanks to our soldiers,” one user wrote. Another commented, “Beautiful view. My heart felt happy.”

However, a Google reverse image search quickly exposed the falsehood. The photo in question actually shows the control room of Chernobyl’s ill-fated power station, similar to stock images found on platforms like Alamy and Adobe Stock.

A broader version of the same image was published by CNN on 29th May 2020, taken by German photographer Bernhard Ludewig, who confirmed on 22nd May that the circulating photo indeed depicts Chernobyl. “There is basically just one good photo spot left today… so most pictures will show things from a very similar perspective,” he stated in an email.

The Telegraph also published a video filmed inside the Chernobyl facility on 25th October, 2019, containing visuals that match the viral image.

For context, the Chernobyl disaster occurred on 26th April 1986, when a reactor exploded during a botched safety test, resulting in the worst nuclear accident in history. Radiation clouds swept across Europe, and tens of thousands of residents had to evacuate the surrounding region.

Just as this fabricated image has been debunked, Indian media outlets have made other implausible claims also during the conflict. These include fictitious attacks on the Karachi Port, and rather absurdly, on a supposed “port in Lahore” — a city that is landlocked and entirely incapable of boasting such a facility.

The AFP Fact Check serves as a sobering reminder of the importance of verifying wartime reports and counters the growing trend of disinformation propagated through social media and partisan media outlets.